Slack has become the latest online collaboration platform to add widgets to its smartphone app, as users demand more intuitive ways to interact with their content.
Great for your work smartphone, but not so good for turning off (unless you link different lock and home screens to focus modes), Slack has rolled out a total of four types of widgets.
The first three take advantage of Home screen widgets, available since iOS 14, with the fourth integrating into the Lock screen thanks to a more recent iOS 16 update.
The first widget on the home screen, which takes up a 2×2 space, is the Catch Up widget, which provides a quick overview of unread and mentioned messages without having to open the app. Tapping the widget also takes users to the corresponding section of the Slack app.
Two other home screen widgets, dubbed “Status,” allow users to quickly change their digital status. The smaller of the two, another 2×2 widget, is a shortcut key that launches the in-app status picker where users can choose from pre-determined or custom messages.
A larger 4×2 widget includes three predefined messages that can be controlled directly from the widget, and a fourth option to create a custom status, which launches the app. When a message is displayed, both “Status” widgets have the option to clear the message without opening the app.
The fourth and final option, a simple app launcher icon, can be displayed on the lock screen as one of four widgets below the clock. It is a compact 1×1 widget.
With these additions, Slack aims to make it even easier for users to stay connected and perform simpler tasks more efficiently. However, with productivity and worker rights on the radar of regulators around the world and many workers demanding the “right to disconnect,” the call to remove work apps from personal phones is growing.